Viper Energy slips as Diamondback cuts stake in $798 mln secondary offering

Viper Energy VNOM.O shares down 3.2% at $46.05 premarket after about $798 mln secondary offering priced

Viper, which acquires mineral and royalty interests in oil and gas properties, late Mon announced ~17.4 mln shares sold by its parent Diamondback Energy FANG.O, EnCap affiliates and Oaktree Capital Management

Offering price equates to around $45.90, which is a 3.6% discount to last close of VNOM

Midland, Texas-based Viper also to repurchase 1 mln partnership units from Oaktree in separate private placement

FANG is the predominant seller, offloading ~12.4 mln shares; prior to the sale, it owned ~155.1 mln shares, ~43.4% of VNOM's total shares outstanding, per the prospectus

JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs joint bookrunners for offering

Through Mon close, VNOM up 23% YTD

Avg rating of 19 analysts is "buy"; median PT $52, per LSEG data